Dealing With Injuries & Modifying My Workouts

Good morning and happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend and feel rested and ready for the week.

So, last week I had to deal with something I HATE dealing with: injuries. I know most people probably don’t like them, but I have a really hard time dealing with and accepting them; I often keep pushing myself and ultimately making things worse… when will I ever learn?!

You may remember me mentioning last week that I tweaked my knee while at the driving range, but that after some ibuprofen and taking it “easy” at the gym and in my class, I felt totally fine. Fine enough to move heavy things up and down 2 flights of stairs all weekend, run 3.5 miles and teach kickboxing. On top of that, Monday morning started off early with my Muscle Mix class, Tuesday night my bootcamp and Wednesday a 30 minute outdoor run before teaching UXF Burn.

I know, I know. You’re probably shaking your heads at me going “you dummy. Of course you got injured. That’s a recipe for disaster and you haven’t taken a rest day in going on 2 weeks!”. And, you’re totally right for thinking that. All of those workouts and moving finally caught up with me and I woke up on Thursday morning with so much pain in the same knee I tweaked the week before.

Luckily, Thursday was a planned rest day for me anyway, and with some ibuprofen and ice, I woke up on Friday feeling better than I did on Thursday. However, I made a pact with myself that I would take it easy all weekend.

Again, I know what you’re probably thinking: “Wow, Monique. You gave yourself a 4 day break. Whoop-dee-freaking-do”. But guys, taking it down a BIG notch for 4 days is so hard for me. My body is used to moving (actively) every day, so telling it to slow down for 4 consecutive days is a huge challenge for me.

But, I gave myself {multiple} pep talks and worked hard to convince myself that taking a little break wasn’t the end of the world, and certainly didn’t mean I was going to lose all of my strength, cardiovascular health and gain 5lbs (I know, I’m so dramatic).

The craziest part about all this is I’m SO GOOD at giving this advice to others. I’m so good at telling people to rest and listen to their bodies and that we all have muscle memory and we’ll bounce back faster than we think. Why can’t I be SO GOOD at giving-and taking- this advice for myself? Will I ever learn, or will I forget all about this until the next time I am faced with another injury (remember the post I wrote about rest days? I haven’t listened to that much lately…) ? It’s so frustrating that I am so bad at listening to myself and my body and that I am so addicted to the feeling during and after a good workout. Don’t get me wrong- it’s great to have a passion and a healthy passion, but when does it get to the point of being unhealthy. An injury? A different set back? When will I get to the point where I see the signs BEFORE things get too far. Before a healthy thing turns into an unhealthy, injury prone obsession?

So, although all of that is hard to admit, it’s true, and injuries are an eye opener for me. I’m happy to say that I did rest for 4 days (with the exception of short walks) and plan on taking it easy with my workouts this week. I don’t need to be beating my body into the ground every day like I generally do. If I want to have a lifetime of physical activity, I need to take care of my body now and not wear it down.

Phew. how’s that for a heavy Monday post. Thanks for listening, though. It always feels good to get this stuff out- I hope some of you can give me good advice and if you’re dealing with the same thing as me, I’m hoping you can find relief in the fact you’re not alone.

This Week’s Workouts

Monday- I’m not teaching today so my plan after work is to go to the gym and do some light, steady state cardio (I just want to sweat!!) and some upper body and core work. I’m going to take it easy with squats and lunges this week.

Tuesday- It’s the first week of my second bootcamp session and I’m SO excited. A bunch of people from my office have expressed interest, so it could be a decent size crowd!

Wednesday- Teaching UXF Burn at 6:30 in Central Square. Before class I may do some steady state cardio or lifting. I’ll see how I feel.

Thursday- Not sure! Maybe my own workout, maybe a class, maybe a walk. I’m going to see how I feel.

Friday- Probably a rest day.

Saturday- I’m supposed to be teaching my cardio kickboxing class at the Oak Square YMCA, but I was invited to attend #BosFIT, an AWESOME fitness event hosted by Bostinno, so I’m trying to get a sub for my class. Check back here on Wednesday for a chance to attend the event for free!

Sunday- After the classes I’m planning to take on Saturday, Sunday will be my second rest day of the week

Questions for you: What was the best workout you had last week? What’s the last injury you’ve had? How do you deal with injuries? Any good advice to share?

9 thoughts on “Dealing With Injuries & Modifying My Workouts”

I am in the same boat as you and actually went to seek help just to find a balance in my life between an exercise obsession/addiction and working out/ being active for the sake of your health and long term life. It’s such a hard thing to realize that a lot of the ‘positive’ things we do, like tracking our calories in and out eventually only start to have negative impacts on our self-body image.

I always tell people to rest during colds/injuries and I’m always the worst at taking my own advice so good for you for at least trying!

I tore my ACL last year and it was the hardest two weeks of ‘rest’ in my life! BUT you know what? I didn’t gain weight, I worked on upper body strength and a year later it has had NO impact on my fitness levels.

I guess I always try to think when I get too much ‘in my head’ about exercise/fitness is that it’s life long, and the more we beat ourselves up now the less we’ll be able to do later…just a thought..

Hi Fiona- I couldn’t agree more with what you’ve said (and it wasn’t a ramble!)… I can’t track calories or things like that because I become TOO obsessed with it. I think your point about looking at it a year later- you can’t tell at all, i’m sure. Even when I take an extra rest day in a week… I feel bad the next day, but the next week? I don’t even remember it. It’s so hard to put everything in perspective sometimes!

Love this post, I have a very hard time with rest, and think it’s good we love working out and being healthy but 110% agree there is a fine line with addiction and knowing when we need to listen to the advice we give. It’s so hard to take our own advice! But awesome post and great job listening and being aware of your body now and the future.

I can totally relate – I have run on stress fractures until I couldn’t even walk because I hate to admit that I have an injury.
Sorry you are dealing with this right now – I hope you can find ways to keep yourself busy while you take care of your knee!

Hi Nick, Although my knee issue is nothing compared to what I’ve read on your comments, I totally get the frustration of not being able to work out in whatever capacity you’re used to–walking a few brisk miles, water aerobics, dancing, etc.–this has been tough for me. (I have a dr’s appt. tomorrow to check it out) Mom(By the way, where do get that “I HAVE to do it mentality???)Oops, That’s from me–sorry!